Dunelm Sale Bargains

I was in Dunelm this morning and they've started their Summer Sale, with up to 75% off home furnishings. I'm currently redecorating at the moment and picked up some lovely items at great prices.

This lovely canvas was reduced by 75% down from £14.99 to just £3.74! I've been looking for a Parisian-themed canvas for a while and this is the nicest one I've found so I was pretty pleased with the bargain price!

This clock was a bit of an impulse buy, but the vintage roses on the clock face are so pretty and at £3.74 down from £14.99 again it was another bargain not to be missed!

And this trinket jar was £2.39, it's perfect for storing bracelets as my jewellery holder is now overflowing!

I also picked up some gorgeous half-price curtains and duvet covers which had up to 75% off. You can browse the sale on the Dunelm website and reserve things online for instore collection - but these aren't picked off the shelf straight away so if there's something you're after its best to get to the store if you can.

SEVENTEEN Quicker Slicker Colour "Sailor Boy" Nail Polish Review

I called in to Boots today to pick up the free Clinique Lipstick I'd been sent a voucher for in the post, and thought I'd have a quick look to see if there were any new nail polishes that caught my eye as I don't have many light colours for summer. I was not disappointed as Seventeen has just launched a few new colours perfect for summer, and I chose a lovely sky blue shade titled "sailor boy". It is part of the "Quicker Slicker Colour" range which claims to dry in 50 seconds and although I didn't time it, it certainly did seem to dry quickly which is a big plus point for me because i'm always smudging my nail varnish whilst I wait for it to dry and it can be very frustrating having to start over! I only needed 2 coats to get a nice even coverage and the colour is true to the bottle. I'm quite pleased with my new little purchase, it's a pretty colour for the summer months and reminds me of clear skies and blue seas! It's only £2.99 and currently all seventeen make-up is on 3 for 2.

Recent bakes...banoffee pie, white chocolate tartlets and savoury parcels ♥

I've been busy baking the past few weeks and trying out new recipes from old recipe books. Taking inspiration from my mum's mediterranean cookery book I tried a savoury dish for a change and tried a recipe for 'borek' (aka filo parcels). It's a simple recipe with cheeses and egg combined and then wrapped in filo pastry in triangle shapes. It's easy to make if a little time consuming and the parcels were delicious both hot from the oven and cool the next day. I've since tried a new variation of squash, spinach and feta pastries and have got a few in the freezer as they're ideal for a quick snack or picnic lunch.

I then went back to my trusty dessert recipe book and tried out the recipe for white chocolate tartlets, which I've been meaning to try for ages. It's a simple recipe with a basic pastry shell and white chocolate, vanilla and cream filling but they looked lovely.

Encouraged by how easy the tartlets were to make I then tried making banoffee pie. It was a little trickier to get the pastry into the dish neatly but it wasn't too bad for a first attempt and then it was simply covering the pastry with caramel, sliced bananas, whipped cream and flaked chocolate. I haven't tried it yet as it's still in the fridge for dessert this evening but it looks yummy!